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By Jacqueline Howard, CNN
(CNN) — The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth have officially ended operations, meaning people contacting 988 for help no longer have the option to “press 3” to reach counselors specifically trained to respond to the needs of this group.
The lifeline included a subnetwork for LGBTQ+ youth soon after its launch in July 2022. But the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced last month that those services would be coming to an end.
“The Press 3 option was established as a pilot program in Fiscal Year 2022 under a government agreement with a third party. The Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus included a Congressional directive for $29.7 million to fund the specialized services. Federal funding in FY24 for the Press 3 services increased to $33 million,” SAMHSA said in a statement in June.
“As of June 2025, more than $33 million in funds have been spent to support the subnetworks, fully expending the monies allocated for 988 Lifeline LGB+ subnetwork services,” the statement said. “Everyone who contacts the 988 Lifeline will continue to receive access to skilled, caring, culturally competent crisis counselors who can help with suicidal, substance misuse, or mental health crises, or any other kind of emotional distress.”
The lifeline has two other subnetworks, which both remain in operation: a “Press 1 option” to be connected to the Veterans Crisis Lifeline and a “Press 2 option” to be connected to Spanish-speaking services.
According to the latest data from SAMHSA, nearly 16.5 million people have called, texted or sent chats to the 988 Lifeline and have been transferred to a crisis contact center since July 2022. It’s estimated that nearly 1.5 million of those were routed to the LGBTQ+ specialized service.
Many LGBTQ+ youth advocacy groups, including the Trevor Project, say the move to end the specialized services puts many young people at risk.
“This administration has made a dangerous decision to play politics with real young people’s lives,” Jaymes Black, CEO of the nonprofit The Trevor Project, said in a news release Thursday. “The 988 Lifeline’s Specialized Services Program was created to serve Americans at highest risk for suicide — including veterans and LGBTQ+ youth — with best-practice crisis care that meets these populations’ unique needs.”
The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ youth, has been a subcontractor to the specialized service since 2022, serving as one of seven call centers.
“I am heartbroken that this administration has decided to say, loudly and clearly, that they believe some young people’s lives are not worth saving,” Black said.
“I want every LGBTQ+ young person to know that you are worthy, valued, and loved exactly as you are. No matter what the federal government says or does, you have millions of people — all across the country — in your corner, and we are here to support you, always,” he said in part. “We are also immeasurably grateful to the crisis counselors and staff members — whom we are being forced to let go in the wake of this news — for their tireless efforts supporting and protecting LGBTQ+ youth.”
In October 2020, President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan bill to make988 the universal telephone number to reach the national suicide prevention hotline.
The bill, which became the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020, said, “It is the sense of Congress that youth who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (referred to in this section as ‘LGBTQ’) are more than 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide than their peers, with 1 in 5 LGBTQ youth and more than 1 in 3 transgender youth reporting attempting suicide.”
About two years later, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline launched under the Biden administration, transitioning what was a 10-digit number to an easier-to-remember three-digit number. People seeking emotional and mental health support can dial 988 for help in the same way they might dial 911 for medical emergencies.
Since 2022, the federal government has invested some $1.5 billion in the 988 project.
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